Every second Thursday, the same ritual. Texts from the crew with their hours. A paper sheet with coffee on it. "I think I started at 7 on Tuesday?" A spreadsheet that has to be right, because people's pay depends on it.
For a small crew it is annoying. For a growing one it becomes expensive: hours that are guessed, overtime that is missed or overpaid, and arguments nobody enjoys.
The short version
- Track time as it happens, on the phone: clock in, breaks, drive time, clock out.
- Let the rules calculate overtime, not a person with a calculator.
- Approve timesheets before payroll, so problems are caught once.
- Export a clean payroll file instead of retyping hours.
What goes wrong with paper and texts
- Guessed hours. Times written down at the end of the day, or the end of the week, are estimates.
- Missed or wrong overtime. Each province sets its own overtime rules. Calculating them by hand invites mistakes in both directions.
- Drive time confusion. Is the drive to the first job paid? Between jobs? Nobody remembers what was agreed.
- Disputes. "I worked 46 hours." "The sheet says 42." Nobody can prove either.
- Your time. An hour or two every pay period, retyping numbers.
What good time tracking looks like
Clock in on the phone. At the start of the day, on breaks, at the end. The time is recorded when it happens.
Track drive time separately. You will know what your routes really cost, and you can pay it the way you agreed.
Tie time to jobs. Hours on each visit show you which jobs ate the day, and feed job costing.
Let rules handle overtime. Set the overtime rules that apply to your crew once, and let the system calculate them.
Approve before payroll. A manager reviews each timesheet, fixes the forgotten clock-out, and approves it.
Export, do not retype. A payroll file goes to your payroll software or accountant.
Commission and expenses
Many trade businesses also pay commission, on sales, on recommendations that become jobs, or on maintenance plans sold. And techs spend money on the road: a part from the supplier, fuel, parking.
Both work better with the same approach:
- Commission plans set once, with a ledger of what each tech earned, approved by pay period
- Expenses logged on the phone with a photo of the receipt, approved and reimbursed
Getting the crew on board
Techs worry that time tracking is about watching them. Make it about getting paid right:
- Explain that it means no more disputes about hours
- Show them they can see their own hours and earnings
- Keep it simple: clock in, clock out, a break button
- Fix mistakes quickly and fairly
How crewduo handles hours and pay
- Time clock and drive time on the phone (from Van): clock in, breaks, clock out and time on the road.
- Timesheets and payroll export (Crew plan): hours with overtime rules, manager approval, pay rates and a payroll file.
- Commission (Crew plan): plans, a ledger and pay periods; techs see their earnings in the app.
- Expenses: logged with a receipt photo, even offline; approval and reimbursement on Crew.
- Job costing (Crew plan): time, materials and expenses against each job.
See how running the business works, or compare plans on the pricing page.
Quick answers
Is drive time paid time? It depends on your province's employment standards and what you have agreed with your crew. Check your provincial rules, then set it up once.
Does the app track location all day? Clock-in records time. Live location on the dispatch map is a separate Fleet feature that is off unless the business turns it on, and only in the hours it sets.
What if someone forgets to clock out? The manager fixes it when approving the timesheet, before payroll.
